


you won't break.

by chosuiri



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, fluffy? or angsty? i like to call it flangst, that's an ugly name nvm don't quote me on that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 10:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10942668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chosuiri/pseuds/chosuiri
Summary: “Does… Yuta-kun feel lonely?”“A little.”





	you won't break.

**Author's Note:**

> ya this was a "prompt" from my friend kelly (as indicated here https://twitter.com/pukamints/status/820165718092050432 ) and it took me a few months to actually write it. joyful. it was supposed to be angsty but i ended up making it more fluffy im sorry

Yuta teeters aimlessly as he clumsily attempts to imitate Shinobu’s swift motions of activating a ninja technique. Arms tremble, and he begins to look as if he is a floating existence as he continues on with feeble and languid movements, coupled with tell-tale signs of jarring exhaustion.

While Shinobu turns a blind eye to it before accidentally, from the corner of his eye he notes the flimsiness of his friend and suddenly ceases his demonstration. Eyes narrow as he cranes his neck over to get a better view of Yuta’s state. Which turns out to be that he was slow to respond to Shinobu’s sudden stop.

“Yuta-kun, are you alright? Uwah… yours truly should’ve known that you weren’t in the best shape right now-- otherwise I wouldn’t have forced you to participate in the NInja Association’s activities with me!” He shouts, concern evident in his features as eyes grow wider and he starts to unconsciously bite his lip out of frustration. He strides over to where Yuta restlessly on his knees level with the ground-- maybe he remains disorientated still.

“Ah-- I’m alright, Shinobu-kun. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, since there was a lot of homework and so many things to be distracted by..?” He responds uneasily, his voice deeper than usual-- a little hoarse, even. “You didn’t force me, though… I thought it would be fine-- I wanted to see that sparkle in your eyes again, after all.”

“A-Ah,” Shinobu sputters incoherently in response as cheeks turn a deep red shade. “Um… well, shall this ninja take Yuta-kun home? The infirmary won’t be enough… is Hinata-kun at home?”

“Aniki?” Yuta murmurs listlessly, “he isn’t home today, he said something about going somewhere with his classmates.”

“What? That isn’t good-- uuu… perhaps I should stay with you until he gets home? I would be a failure of a ninja if I left a friend unattended like that?”

“Just a friend?” Yuta muses out loud, but Shinobu tries to omit it from his memory. There’s  _ no way _ . He tells himself, and instead squats on the ground in front of the twin.

“Allow yours truly to take Yuta-kun home!” Shinobu exclaims, a bit louder than he has intended, and braces himself for Yuta’s weight. Surely the boy isn’t too heavy, but… Shinobu still has a long way to go in terms of strength. In fact, wouldn’t Tetora be better at this than him?

Nonetheless, Yuta must’ve climbed on Shinobu’s back, because he noticeably feels a weight upon his body. “Be gentle, okay?”

Somehow Yuta manages to tease him a little even in his half-dead state.

The ninja bites his lip as he tries to hoist Yuta up, but immediately he feels overwhelmed with the weight and begins to wobble. “T-This is no problem for this ninja! Nay! In fact, this is easy!” He declares, mostly to encourage himself but also elicits a snort of laughter from Yuta.

“You are, Shinobu-kun? I’m a little heavier than you, after all.” He whispers-- his voice wavering dangerously close to Shinobu’s ear that it does nothing but make Shinobu falter even more.

His cheeks burn even more brightly as Yuta’s breath hitches with each passing second and suddenly Shinobu can only hear the rhythmic  _ ba-dump _ of his friend’s heart gradually growing faster against his back. This incites his own heart to follow his example and he briefly wonders what will he do if his heart burst?

His arms weaken and Yuta slowly glides off Shinobu’s back and reaches the ground with a thud.

“Ow…” He groans, exaggerating it a considerably amount (unknown to Shinobu), and he wearily decides to lie flat on the ground. 

“Yuta-kun..?! Please forgive this failure of a ninja! Uwah, to think my strength is still not enough to even support my own weight… yes, more training is definitely necessary.” He begins to mumble, before finally turning around and squatting so he can see the boy on the ground head on. “Ah, but… I cannot carry you home, it seems... “

“I can walk, Shinobu-kun.” Yuta replies quickly with a laugh, and tries to prove it by forcing himself off the ground. Standing up straight, albeit an ounce wobbly, he places his hands on his hips and looks down at the ninja with a somewhat smug expression. “See? All better. Relax, alright?”

_ Impossible _ , Shinobu thinks to himself as he nervously looks away instead. Some reason, he’s utterly flustered-- the power Yuta has over him is quite scary, really. “R-Relax… I’m afraid this ninja cannot be at ease quite yet! Either way, Yuta-kun needs to go home immediately… so, follow yours truly.”

Yuta snorts, but smiles nonetheless.

* * *

 

“I hope you don’t mind the mess, Shinobu-kun,” Yuta whispers, as he puts stows away his key and opens the door to his apartment. He frowns for a moment at the stack of dishes left in the kitchen sink, but a small orchestra of meows plays in the distance-- causing a smile to appear on his face. Looking over at his friend, his eyes widen for some reason.

Weary and dizzy still, Yuta lets out a tired yawn and glances around, and ultimately decided that he should just get going to his room. “Shinobu-kun, you can leave if you'd like… there's nothing much here, and I don't want to keep you.”

“It would be against this ninja’s honor if he was to neglect another in need in such a perilous time?!” Shinobu squeaks in return, nodding his head vigorously as he straightens his back to act as proper support for Yuta. A giggle rings in response, and Shinobu feels his cheeks grow warmer as he urges the other to lean on him. “Is Yuta-kun’s dad here? He must be hard at work, huh?”

A tinge of hurt crosses Yuta’s face, and his eyes narrow as he shakes his head. “He never is.”

Shinobu grimaces at his cold response-- realizing there was a grave error in his asking. He shouldn’t have even succumbed to his curiosity. “This ninja apologizes gravely, that is not something essential to his knowledge of Yuta-kun. It may be possible that this ninja may know too much already, considering the broadcast the other day-- he apologizes for not being able to stop it from coming out?”

“It’s fine. I already knew, after all. I think it was for the better.” Yuta murmurs, “and… no one is treating Aniki like he’s a helpless kid, but it seems like he’s loved just a little more now by his classmates. It’s good for him.”

“Does… Yuta-kun feel lonely?” He questions, opting to guide Yuta to the couch since he doesn’t want to intrude on his room. Yuta notices Shinobu’s actions, and obediently lounges on the furniture. Shinobu smiles at this, and kneels on the floor with both arms acting as an anchor to the couch. 

“A little.” He answers curtly, eyes shining when he notices his cats coming from the kitchen. As the meander closer to bombard him, Shinobu spots them and is quickly alarmed into flipping over the couch and hiding behind it. “Huh? Shinobu-kun?”

“Yuta-kun, this ninja is afraid to inform you that…” He coughs in the middle, a bit embarrassed to admit his fear of cats. “Cats are his greatest enemy.” He peeks out sheepishly, but immediately draws back when he notices that the cat has already claimed its territory on Yuta. “U-Uwah…”

“They’re not going to do any harm, Shinobu-kun.” Yuta remarks with a laugh, and he redirects his attention to the ceiling. Unconsciously, he strokes his cat’s fur, and opens his mouth to speak once more. Assuming that his friend can hear him, he prays that he can produce enough energy to talk so much.

Shinobu frowns in response, but slowly steps away from his hiding place. Glaring at the cat, he elects to cling to the back of the couch-- not without keeping a steady gaze on the feline. Drawing in a deep breath, he poses his question once more. “If Yuta-kun does not mind me asking again, is he lonely?”

“I am a little lonely since it seems like Aniki is finally going his own way, but… it’s what I wanted. I’ve been trying to distance myself purposefully, but I still have a long way to go. I need to be more independent myself, that is.” Yuta pauses for a moment, eyes drifting as if he's lost in his own thoughts. Somehow, vocalizing them only made them harder to sort out. He lets out a dejected sigh, and shifts onto his side. “I wanted to try new things and be apart from Aniki, so when the time comes when we must separate… we will not break.”

Shinobu hums thoughtfully, slowly processing the information with a bit of a grimace on his face. “Is this a reason why…”

Yuta’s eyes widen, and he shoots straight up into an upright position. “Huh? You think I’m using you?”

Shinobu thrusts his hands in front of himself and waves them quickly, trying to deny Yuta’s conclusion. “No! That is not what this ninja means at all!”

Yuta visibly relaxes, and he picks up his cat off his lap and walks over to the kitchen to ensure that the cat stays far, far away from Shinobu. After making sure that his other cat also was located in the distance, he triumphantly walks back and settles on the couch. He pats the cushion next to him, urging Shinobu to take a seat.

Thinking about the many times cats have lingered on this very piece of furniture,Shinobu gingerly plops himself on the couch.  “Yuta-kun?”

“I was just thinking about the time we first met. Do you remember, Shinobu-kun? You got all flustered and said my name strangely. You interested me after that, you know~? I’m glad we’re friends now thanks to Anzu-san.” He turns excitedly to look at Shinobu-- somehow the newfound exhilaration of reveling in memories eases Yuta’s prior fatigue. Or maybe he feels much more energized because he is talking to Shinobu?

“A-Ah… I’m glad we’re friends now too, Yuyuyuyuta-kun!” He stammers in response, the mere mention of that embarrassing time in his life utterly flustering him. “T-Thank you for helping this shy ninja become more confident over time… and for being his first friend outside of his unit.”

“Of course,” Yuta breathes as he smiles softly at Shinobu, “I like the sound of that, you know? It makes me feel special.”

“Yuta-kun is special, though!?” Realizing the how strange he sounds right now, Shinobu lets out a groan and reaches for a cushion to submerge his face in. “Uuu… is Yuta-kun feeling better now? Mayhaps it’s time for yours truly to take his leave…”

“Hm~? I’m feeling chipper now because of you, Shinobu-kun.” Yuta nods earnestly, “would it be selfish of me to ask you to stay? I mean… at least until Aniki comes home.”

“Eh? Yuta-kun should be used to…” Shinobu quickly shakes his head, as Yuta’s words echo in his mind. “Can Yuta-kun turn on the TV? Taichou-dono’s favorite show is coming on soon, and it’s interesting to yours truly… so maybe we should watch it? He surely will want to discuss it tomorrow at practice.”

“O-Of course,” Yuta mutters and reaches over to grab the remote and turns it on, handing it to Shinobu so he can search for the proper channel. “But Shinobu-kun, I know I said I wanted to try to be more independent, but… I don’t know. I’m just scared that father figure may have heard about… it’s silly, because he never cares about us. And it was only broadcasted within the school, so I doubt anyone would’ve disclosed it.”

“It’ll be fine for Yuta-kun!” Shinobu responds idly as he chooses the correct channel and selecting it. “Well, Yuta-kun may be in his weakest state right now, right? So this ninja will protect him in case he has a chance of coming home early?”

Yuta laughs.

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

“I’m homeeeeeee!” Hinata shouts, as he enters the apartment. Noticing that it’s dead silent aside from the quiet noises coming from the television, Hinata raises an eyebrow as he inspects the state of the house. Yuta didn’t do  _ anything _ . “Geeez, you’re really making your onii-chan work? How cruel!” He pouts, but his eyes widen when he notices that another set of shoes were present at the door.

Hm.

Deciding to be as quiet as possible, he tip-toes toward the living room to see Shinobu leaning on his brother’s shoulder, which puts a small smile on his face. Not wanting to disturb them, he simply grabs the remote to turn off the television.

He takes out his phone, and sends a text to his father-- warning him to not bother coming home tonight since they have a guest.

He isn’t sure if he will listen, but it doesn’t hurt to have some faith in him.

Their mom did once, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> u want a sweet fic like this? just request me/give me a prompt at anytime! it's good practice, and i don't mind exactly what ship it's for. anyways catch me on twitter @sweetie_wink


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